Dancing Queen!

Anyone who knows Holynd can't deny the fact that she's born to perform. She loves attention. Well friends, she started dance class today! She loved it. Sloane was jealous, but I think I found a little music class for her take at the same time. It's amazing how much Sloane picks up on lately. She knew, as soon as Holynd put on that tutu, that sister was going somewhere special and she wanted in on that action!

Holynd did wonderfully. She walked right in with her little pink dance bag on her shoulder. This was right up her alley. I foresee many dance recitals in our future. (In addition to the ones I "attend" on a daily basis).

Just for the record...

I've been trying to get these stats blogged for awhile! I'm sick of holding on to these little cards they gave me at the doctor's office, so here I am, late at night, blogging this so that we can go workout before Matt and I get too tired and just go to sleep. :)

Sloane, 18 months old:
*Length: 33", 75%
*Weight: 25lbs 51%
*Head: 48cm 84%
Apparently her head is ginormous. I blame the curls. ;) Sloane is getting to that age where she is into everything! Right now, she's the hardest to keep up with. Sloane has a very funny personality. She can be so sweet that she makes your teeth hurt, but then can get very angry if things don't go her way. I think she's like that because she has to fight so hard to get the things she wants. Her sister doesn't like to share. I spend most of my day playing referee for the two of them. Luckily, Sloane has switched from two naps, to one nap a day. Why is this lucky?? Because she sleeps at the exact same time as her older sister. Yes, Holynd still takes naps. I'm not going to encourage her stop anytime soon either! (Duh!)

Maddox, 2 months old:
*Length: 24.5", 82%
*Weight: 12lbs, 42%
*Head: 49cm, 26%
Maddox is a taste of heaven. So content and just plain cute. It's sad to admit, but he hardly even flinches when his sisters beat up on him nowadays. I think he realized that crying out for help was a lost cause. I try my hardest to keep him out of harms way, but you wouldn't believe the lengths his sisters go to in order to torture him. He's going to be tough. Days with three kids can be terribly long, but I always look forward to climbing into my bed at night and finally getting to just hold him. Pudee loves bedtime. He's the first baby I've ever had that will go to sleep on their own without crying. Put him down drowsy and he'll usually just fall asleep. He doesn't like noise and chaos - sorry little guy, you should've came first if you wanted peace and quiet. ;) Pudee wakes up to eat twice during the night... Well, I'd call it early morning. He'll usually sleep from 8pm until 4am before getting hungry. He'll fall back to sleep before he's completely fed and then wake up a couple of hours later to finish eating. If he senses a change in the routine or gets overstimulated, he does a 180 and becomes a very whiny baby. We aren't really swaddling Pudee anymore. It makes me sad that he likes to wiggle around and move everywhere. It was nice having a newborn that loved to be all bundled up. The girls never liked that.

I try not to read into measurements very much. Yes, it's easy to get excited and think, "My kid will be the tallest!" or "My kid is so healthy because look at how much they weigh!". But, Holynd proved the charts wrong when she decided to go from Barely-On the charts to Almost-Off the charts in a matter of months. Kids grow the way they're supposed to grow. Holynd has always grown in spurts, Sloane prefers a rather consistent growth pattern. Maddox went all the way to his due date and weighed less then Sloane - who decided on a more early entrance into the world. I don't really care. They're happy, they're healthy. It just want to make sure that everyone knows that I'm posting this for recordings-sake. It's sad to admit, but I didn't do this with Holynd because she was so tiny in the beginning. I thought people would feel like I was a bad mom because I couldn't get my kid to the top of the charts. Lame! Don't make that same mistake!

Taking three kids to the doctor alone was EXHAUSTING. It took me, a nurse and a receptionist to get all my kids out to the Volvo after the appointment was over. Sloane got lost in the office twice and Maddox cried through the whole appointment. Holynd spilled pretzel sticks all over the floor, while Sloane proceeded to stick fruit snacks in her mouth and then spit them out all over the doctor's chair. This, my friends, was a very challenging experience. I don't usually try to conquer things like this. I have lots of babysitters on hand and, believe me, I use them! However, I attempted this because the receptionist asked if I wanted to bring Maddox and Sloane in together to "make things easier for mommy". It was not easier and I do NOT recommend it.

It's A Beautiful Day...

I love seeing the Priesthood used in my home. It invites a very special spirit every time it's used.

This last August, I was miserable. I was convinced that the heat was slowly trying to defeat me in my pregnant-state. I wasn't necessarily hot, but I was swollen. I couldn't figure out what I was doing wrong because I was drinking over 100 ounces of water a day. A DAY! I had even (GASP!) cut back on drinking Diet Pepsi. (I know. You can try and pinch yourself, but I really just said that). After much discouragement and misery, Matt decided it was time for a blessing. The blessing didn't say that the swelling would go away or that the baby would come right at 37 weeks or even that I would feel better, only that I would be made stronger and would be given comfort when I needed it. Looking back, I needed that trial because, oh goodness did I need that strength for taking care of these babies. But boy do I love them.

After that day, I decided that we needed to have a Family Home Evening lesson on the Priesthood. It was amazing what happened that night. It actually felt like both little girls were listening intently as Matt explained the blessings of the Priesthood and having the Priesthood in our home. At the end of the lesson, Matt gave both the girls a little blessing. Sloane had an extra small one because the attention made her a little nervous. However, Holynd really seemed impressed by the whole experience. It all seemed very fitting because it was August and school was starting. We just kinda decided that this lesson would mark the beginning of a tradition from here-on-out.

I hadn't thought about that lesson until yesterday.

We got up yesterday morning and began to get everything ready for Maddox's big day. We had kinda explained what was going to happen, but that morning while the girls sat at the table eating breakfast I asked Holynd, "What happens when daddy gives a blessing?"

She answered, "He puts his hands on my head and prays for me."

Very true Holynd.



Maddox was given a wonderful blessing.

After the party was over and all goodbyes were said, we did a bare-minimum of cleaning and hung out in the playroom for the rest of the day. A very special ending to a very special day.

Don't mind the princess dress on Holynd and the frizzy hair on Sloane. Playing was just way more important.

Champ.

I see you peeking...

Still peeking... :)

Oh little man, please still love me after we go to the doctor...

Promise?

Ok.

Yes, I am going to attempt to take all three kids to the doctor.

Pray for me.

Phew!

Our life in a summary: Christmas Eve, Christmas, Stomach Flu, Holynd's Birthday, Stomach Flu, Jazz Game, Holynd's Birthday Party, New Years, Shopping....... and we still looking forward to blessing Pudee this Sunday.

If that summary was enough for you, then don't read on. If you do read on, be prepared for way too many pictures. I don't know if I've ever done a post with so many pictures. To be frank, I was getting overwhelmed with all the posts that I felt like I needed to write, so I've lumped them all into one.

Christmas Eve and Christmas day we spend with both the Petersons and my family. Aunt T was here and so we tried to spend as much as time with her and her hubs before they left for Arizona.

Christmas morning started off wonderful....

Santa came...

The girls went crazy opening presents.... The present I was looking forward to was a "phone" for the kids. I don't know if any other parents get sick of their kids always hogging their phones for apps and what-not, but I couldn't take it anymore! We got the girls a Galaxy Player for Christmas. It's exactly like our phones, but can't call or use any data. Love it!

And then.....

Sloane threw up. Oh boy. After a few hours of assessment, it was determined that she wouldn't have any fun at G-Ma's that morning. Holynd, Pudee and I bid sick Sloanie and daddy farewell and went down to Payson. We opened even more presents, ate way too much food, but then then inevitable happened. Uncle Greg started throwing up. When Matt called and said Sloane was still throwing up, I decided it was time to pack up and get everyone home. I walked in the door and 15 minutes didn't pass before... Yep, you guessed it. I started throwing up. I spent the rest of the day and most of the night in bed. By morning, Sloane and I were no longer throwing up, but were just tired. Luckily Sloane took a 5 hour nap (NOT JOKING!) and Holynd was so infatuated with her new toys that she stayed occupied in the playroom most of the day. I spent another day in bed, only getting up to get Holynd snacks and to feed Pudee.

By the end of the day, I felt better and was able to eat. Sloane was also mostly back to normal. It was about 9pm that night when I noticed that nursing wasn't going that well. My milk wasn't coming in the way it normally did and Pudee has proved to be my hungriest child. It wouldn't have been that big of a deal, except for the fact that my pump had broken two nights before so I couldn't really pump to bring my milk back in.

The next morning, we went down to Payson to spend the day with Aunt T and Uncle Greg. I was very grateful for this day because I was able to nurse Maddox to the best of my ability and then have my mom give him a bottle. It took a couple more days of high fat/protein meals and lots of nursing before I finally felt like I was in the clear.

By Wednesday night, Matt was sick. He was planning on staying home for the rest of the week anyway, so he spent the first day of his vacation in bed. I let the girls just play and I made Homemade Chicken Noodle soup for my husbands recovering tummy troubles. However, the real thing that helped my husband's recovery move along was when my mom called offering us some Jazz Tickets for the next night. My Uncle is a season ticket holder and usually gives my mom and dad his tickets for the New Years game. My parents, however, had already planned a temple night with their friends and so called us asking us if we wanted the tickets. Grandma Kathy was more then happy to come and play with our babies while we went out on the town. :)

First up, dinner at Thaifoon. Delicious.

Ice Cream at the game. Yummy!

I spent the entire game sitting next to Aaron Eckhart. I had no idea it was him. People kept coming up and asking for pictures with him. He was really nice, but I had no idea who he was. It wasn't until we got home that we realized we had sat next to Two-Face at the Jazz game.

The Petersons have a set Sunday that they celebrate birthdays for the month. Holynd had already celebrated her birthday with all her cousins and then with her friend Kaydence too, but we couldn't go without celebrating with G-Ma and G-Pa, so the next night we had a special birthday dinner for the birthday girl. What did Princess Holynd request?? Tacos!

Holynd and Sloane went as Aurora and Cinderella. Santa can never bring enough dress-up clothes.

Holynd requested a Strawberry Cake. I don't bake and I couldn't find a strawberry cake anywhere. With the Jazz game and all the sickness, I hadn't thought to order one before hand, so I went with Plan B: Red Velvet. I told Holynd a little white lie and said it was strawberry, she never knew the difference. ;) The rest of us all had cheesecake! YUM!

Sloanie before we did her hair. Boy does her hair get frizzy.

That night, we put the girls to bed and turned on some Best of Will Ferrall to keep us entertained until midnight. However, I must admit that with all the craziness going on lately, we didn't make it to midnight. :)

We felt dumb for not making it until midnight, so Sunday we invited friends over to watch movies. As always, we had so much fun hanging out with friends and letting the kids tear up the house. :)

Matt's vacation stretched all way until yesteday, so I decided to venture out and find Pudee's blessing outfit. I'd be lying if I didn't say that this project wasn't easy. I had already looked three other places before my sister-in-law finally suggested Dressed in White. I went in and was very pleased. Boys outfits are so much harder then girls' outfits. Holynd wore mine and then I went to the Quilted Bear for Sloane's (Love that place for girls' blessing dresses! They're like little wedding dresses!). I had NO IDEA where to find a handsome boys' outfit and I got very frustrated before I found this place. I couldn't believe how many spaceman outfits were out there trying to pass for boys' blessing oufits!

Phew! We are tired, but we're gearing up for one more party before life returns to normal. :)